DARLINGTON — A Platteville man has had his bail raised and will be returning to a mental health facility after drug and weapons charges. Mitchell Floerke, 23, was arrested Aug. 1 at a residence just outside of Belmont. He was on a Department of Health conditional release with probation from Mendota Mental Health Institute at the time.
On Aug. 29, Floerke had his release and bail altered from a $5,000 cash bond to a $10,000 signature bond at a quickly scheduled hearing. Once signed, he will be transferred back to Grant County, and then to Mendota Mental Health in Madison.
Floerke faces six felonies and eight misdemeanors in Lafayette County related to possession of several hard drugs and weapons he was not legally able to own. The incident led to Grant County authorities contacting Lafayette County nearly a month later about adjusting his bail.
In 2017, Floerke was first arrested for a slew of incidents, including armed burglary, substantial battery, criminal damage to property and multiple counts of bail jumping. He was later found “Guilty but Not Guilty Due to Mental Disease/Defect” and placed at Mendota Mental Health. In 2019, during conditional release from the mental health clinic, he was arrested again for misdemeanor battery and theft.
On the night of Floerke’s most recent arrest, an on-duty Lafayette County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling a trailer park at about 2:30 a.m. when he noticed suspicious activity at one of the trailers, which had previously been “a known drug residence in the recent past,” the deputy stated in the criminal complaint.
The deputy, aware of Floerke’s probation restrictions, made “consensual contact” with Floerke, who was later detained in handcuffs after the deputy saw two handguns in the car. Floerke told the officer they were airsoft weapons. In all, three pellet guns with the orange safety tips removed were found in the car — in both front doors and in the center console.
During a search, a knife, a key for handcuffs and a taser were all located. Floerke was arrested and the vehicle impounded. After investigation, authorities seized: Floerke’s wallet, his iPhone 12 Pro, multiple hidden knives, brass knuckles, packaged marijuana, vape pens with THC cartridges, methamphetamine, pills packaged for resale (including Schedule IV drugs), caffeine pills, homemade hashish oil, OC spray canisters, multiple lock picking sets (including one in his wallet), and $410 in cash.
During Floerke’s initial questioning the night of the arrest, he told law enforcement he was just hanging out with his friend, Marcus Bateman.
Bateman told authorities an altered story. He said Floerke gave him a ride home from work around midnight. Bateman claimed he didn’t know why Floerke was still there, but Floerke had stated earlier that night to Bateman, “I don’t know if I will wake up in the morning.”
Bateman, 19, is on probation himself from a series of incidents between February 2021 and April 2023. At 16 in 2021, he was charged with attempted murder in a drug deal gone bad, though that charge was later dismissed. In other cases, Bateman has been found guilty of multiple counts of criminal damage to property, resisting an officer, battery, disorderly conduct.